Ex Libris VINICOMBE BEY,
Colonel d’ Artillerie Tophané, Constantinople.
Example of soft-ground etching—Reproduced
by half-tone process block.
“AU REVOIR.”
Having now rehearsed, I hope clearly and concisely, the various modes by which Ex Libris are and have been produced, and having revealed as many trade secrets as the limited space at command would allow, I beg to thank the Council of the Ex Libris Society for permission to reprint from the pages of the Journal the series of articles on the subject—now somewhat expanded—and for the use of the blocks by which they were illustrated. To Mr. W. H. K. Wright, F.R.Hist.Soc., the able Editor and Secretary of the Ex Libris Society (to whom all collectors are infinitely indebted), my thanks are due for his valued aid and counsel; and on whose shoulders I have now laid the further obligation of a preface. As a special favour I have requested his “library interior” plate to appear. A similar favour I have desired from Arthur Vicars, F.S.A., [Ulster King of Arms], to whom I dedicate this little book. With the exception of these two “library interiors” and the [crest plate of R. Day], F.S.A., by Sherborn, all the modern Ex Libris designs here printed have been made by, or under the superintendence of, the writer, and executed by Marcus Ward & Co., Limited, whom I beg to thank most heartily for their kind co-operation, particularly in printing the lithographed specimens, and the use of additional blocks. I have also to thank several personal friends who have been good enough to lend me their copper-plates and process blocks.
John Vinycomb, m.r.i.a.